By Roland Routh
WINDHOEK – A Zambian national previously convicted on a charge of stock theft in the Regional Court in Katima Mulilo on Monday failed to get his appeal going.
Simataa Simataa lodged an appeal against a sentence of six years’ imprisonment he received in the Katima Mulilo Regional Court for the theft of three head of cattle in 2011.
He lodged an appeal against the sentence only.
After State Advocate Jack Eixab told the court no grounds for appeal were clearly set out as required by the Magistrate Court Rules and neither did the appellant point out one material error or misdirection made by the magistrate when the sentence was imposed, Appeal Judges Elton Hoff and Naomi Shivute ordered the appeal be struck off the roll.
Eixab also had a problem with the late filing of the notice to appeal.
He said Simataa was sentenced on July 05, 2011 and only lodged his appeal on October 21, 2013, more than too late.
Simataa argued a fine should have been imposed as he suffers from a heart condition and has five children to raise.
He also stated he is young and intends to proceed with his education.
Judge Hoff who wrote the judgment in concurrence with Judge Shivute said that grounds of appeal “must be set out clearly and specifically,” and that since no grounds of appeal had been set out by the appellant, there was no attack on the sentence imposed and thus there was no appeal against the sentence.
For this reason alone the matter should be struck from the role, the judges emphasised.
In respect of the late filing of the appeal, the judges said that while Simataa did file a condonation application stating that he did not understand well what an appeal was, it appeared from the court role that his right to appeal was explained to him and that he understood the explanation.
According to Judge Hoff, the fact Simataa stated in his affidavit that he wanted to leave everything in God’s hands appeared to him that Simataa accepted the sentence.
He said he saw no reasonable prospects of success on the appeal.